Mesrach Ayele, World Vision Ethiopia

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“My life now and before is like heaven and the earth. Incomparable!” says Guale, a 15-year-old girl in 8th grade, who aspires to be a successful business woman. Guale and her family live in Gondar, a historic Ethiopian city located 730 kilometers (454 miles) north of the capital of Addis Ababa.

Guale says, “Being the middle girl in the family, I carried a burden on my shoulder. I used to have a hectic life, filled with routine tasks expected of me. I live in a large extended family and all females in the house work tirelessly,” she says. “I would wake up as early as 4am and together with my mother, sister and niece we go to fetch water from the spring or manually dug borehole. The time we get back home is determined by the number of people who have reached there before us,” said Guale. “And once animals are out, it was difficult to get water because they make it dirty. I and my family drank this water all our life and we have always been sick for a reason we never knew until recently,” she said. Until World Vision entered the community, Guale and her family lacked clean water or an awareness about sanitation and hygiene.

“I know what these kids were missing because I have been in their position,” says Fetlework. “During my time as a Sunday school student, we had the smallest kid from age three to the oldest at 14. We all sat in one classroom and most of the things said, I don’t remember. Me and my friends never liked that,” Fetleworksaid.

Pastor Getnetremembers too, “Full Gospel Church had a Sunday schoolservicehowever it was practiced differently. Parents used to bring their children and drop them into one large classroom whereall ofthe kids used to sit. They only had one teacher assigned and whenever the teacher missedchurchwe let them join the congregation since we had no otheroption.”

The Gurage area is located 195 kilometers southwest of Addis Ababa, the Ethiopian capital. People in this area are known for being hard workers and successful entrepreneurs. Along with that commendable trait, comes the fact that they prefer to lead a very cautious and quiet life, causing others to perceive them as submissive and meaningless. Gurage is a place where people still hold onto this dangerous cultural practice that can effect children and women specifically. The demeaning word used for them is tokenet,which means minor or insignificant. This attitude makes them feel dejected, rendering them incapable of standing up for themselves over time. Those who are labeled are not allowed to take part in any cultural activity or public gathering.

World Vision is a Christian humanitarian organization dedicated to working with children, families, and their communities worldwide to reach their full potential by tackling the causes of poverty and injustice. World Vision serves all people, regardless of religion, race, ethnicity, or gender.